Forever Episode Review: "The Frustrating Thing About Psychopaths"

A review of the Forever episode that first aired October 21, 2014.

Synopsis: When Henry (Ioan Gruffudd) is brought in to investigate a human heart that was sent to the police department, he ultimately discovers a crime scene that duplicates the last Jack the Ripper murder almost to the smallest detail. Upon further investigation and with the help of the mysterious “Adam,” he learns he’s tracking a serial killer that is obsessed with recreating historic murder scenes.

Guest Stars

Should Have Kept the Focus on Jack the Ripper

To tell you the truth, I was a little disappointed by this episode’s murder investigation. From the previews, I figured it would be a true Jack the Ripper copycat and, with the knowledge this show has at least two immortal people on it, potentially the real deal. While, admittedly, the twist involving the killer copying other famous crime scenes was unexpected and a bit interesting, I think trying to mix in something as equally complicated as the Black Dahlia murder gave the episode a bit of rushed feel to it and, as a result, the second murder just wasn’t as interesting as it could have been.

The thing this episode did do, however, is create some renewed interest when it comes to this anonymous “Adam” character. It’s one thing to have someone call Henry over the phone. It’s completely different to have him show up and coldly slit Henry’s throat so his secret is kept safe. It really makes me wonder just what he could be capable of in future episodes and, just as important, what exactly his motives are, especially since this episode made it pretty clear he has been stalking Henry since at least the 19th century. Based on that, I’m guessing it’s someone he actually knows and we may even have been introduced to before in a previous flashback.

I should also mention I thought that twist with Adam showing up to finish Henry off was actually kind of clever. Up until that point, I thought, for certain, Jo (Alana De La Garza) would inadvertently learn his secret. And, let’s face it, he nearly gave it away a couple of times during this episode with his unusual knowledge (and his historic ledger) of the Jack the Ripper murders.

Final Opinion

I had some doubts early on in this first season of the series but, so far, this show has continued to impress me. I just wish this particular episode would have kept the focus on the one historic serial killer rather than try to cram in additional famous murders.